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Residents of the Big Apple will learn the identity of their next mayor this election day, in a race that will decide who governs and defends the country's most populous metropolis at a moment when the former president has threatened to send military troops to the urban center.

In this context, New York has witnessed a race for mayor that has matched two very different Democrats against one another. The election has turned into an increasingly bitter showdown, marked by accusations of racial bias and Islamophobia, but it is the political differences between the two main contenders that could have significant consequences for how the party fares in next year's congressional races.

The Rising Progressive

In the progressive corner is the democratic socialist, the 34-year-old progressive candidate whose rapid ascent and people-powered movement has attracted global notice. Representing the old guard is the former governor, the ex- New York governor now running as an independent – and enjoying the backing of ultra-rich donors and corporations.

As the election approaches, it is Mamdani, the former longshot who defeated his opponent in the Democratic primary who is firmly installed as the leading candidate. Mamdani, who has campaigned on a agenda of affordability and pledged to freeze rent for about two million city residents, has led Cuomo by double-digits in every poll taken in October, and it is very much the younger man's election to throw away.

A Bitter Contest

Yet, the former governor, who resigned as governor in 2021 amid allegations of misconduct, has stated clearly he will battle to the end, and not necessarily in an fair fashion. He has criticized his opponent's goals as unrealistic, and in recent days laughed as a radio host made anti-Muslim comments about Mamdani, who is a Muslim. Recently, the independent was strongly criticized as racist after sharing an AI-generated ad that included a series of racial caricatures and showed his opponent releasing a group of criminals.

This represents a particularly ugly conclusion to an race that could be key to the path that the party, struggling in its response to the former president's authoritarian grabs, adopts in the coming years.

National Implications

If the progressive secures a clear victory, the party establishment who have refused to endorse his campaign will be forced to reckon with a message that has resonated with Americans' frustration at economic disparity, soaring price rises and the establishment. It would be difficult for Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries not to embrace at least a portion of Mamdani's progressive proposals about economic justice, given the newcomer has generated an excitement within the party perhaps not seen since Bernie Sanders campaigned for the White House eight years ago.

However, if the former governor, who had been expected to sail to victory in the June primary, achieve a remarkable riches-to-rags-to-riches win, it could reinforce national Democrats' current model of considered, lackluster opposition – a strategy that has angered grassroots members. A NYC rejection of the progressive's progressive, positive message could convince Schumer and Jeffries that the best plan is to remain in the political center – even as polls show the present version of the party is deeply unpopular nationwide.

Campaign Energy

Residents of New York seem to prefer the Mamdani vision. Surveys show that Mamdani supporters are much more excited about their choice than Cuomo backers, something that has been evident during the race. The candidate's snappy videos on social media, his optimistic vision for New York and his readiness to actually get out and meet people in the metropolis has drawn an army of more than 50,000 volunteers, many of them youth or new participants.

Negative Tactics

Yet, Cuomo, in his late sixties, isn't giving up. And with the risks against him, the former governor has turned to negative campaigning in the final days.

After spending months throwing basically everything at his opponent to see what might stick, the independent has concentrated on targeting Mamdani personally. He has labelled his rival, who was of Ugandan origin to Indian parents, an "radical", and popped up on Fox Business for an interview with Maria Bartiromo, where Cuomo claimed New York “will not survive” Mamdani as city leader. It reached a nadir recently, when the former governor laughed along and said “that’s another problem” after a radio host said the candidate would “cheer” another terrorist attack.

Campaign Dynamics

This strategy echoes much of what Trump, who has sent the national guard to the capital and warned to do the same to NYC, has said about Mamdani, and perhaps that is expected. A group of billionaire New Yorkers, including some who donated to Trump in the last presidential race, have invested heavily into trying to elect Cuomo elected, as other influential figures have pressured Curtis Sliwa to withdraw from the contest.

Candidate Backgrounds

As far as the Cuomo camp, and his wealthy backers, are worried, it should not have reached to this. When Mamdani, one of one hundred fifty New York state assembly members, launched his mayoral bid in October 2024, not many had heard of him, and in reality, barely anyone even paid attention.

Cuomo, by comparison, entered smoothly into the race in March 2025 and became the instant favorite. He was the political heavyweight who seemingly held all the advantages. The quintessential political insider, he had wed a political dynasty member and worked in Bill Clinton’s administration. He became the state's leader in over a decade ago, 17 years after his father, the former governor, left office from the same position.

Mamdani, who was elected to the New York state assembly in recently, does not have the comparable background. But his dedication to providing free buses and free childcare – along with the rent control promise – offer a more positive vision of the city's direction than Cuomo’s pessimistic predictions about “mayhem” and unfettered crime, and his promise to hire more police officers.

Campaign Controversies

Still, Mamdani has faced some challenges in the final phase, after footage surfaced suggesting him suggesting the New York police department and the Israel Defense Forces were connected.

“We have to make clear that when the pressure of the NYPD is on your neck, it’s been laced by the Israeli military,” Mamdani said in the recording, recorded at a Democratic Socialists of America convention in recent years. Mamdani, a vocal opponent of the Israeli government who has said the country is committing genocide in the Palestinian territory, indicated he was questioning joint training exercises between the NYPD and IDF.

Emotional Response

As the race closes, the candidate seems to have gained sympathy and support, however, for his response to Cuomo’s increasing rhetoric.

Mamdani responded to the independent's 9/11 remarks in an emotional video. In it, the candidate recalled how, when he first ran for the legislature, a Muslim uncle advised to him that he did not have to tell people about his religion. It was a lesson, he said, that many local Muslims had been taught “again and again”: “That security could only be found in the margins of our community. That it is in those hidden spaces alone where followers of Islam could express their full identities, and that if we were to step out from those shadows, then it is in those silence that we must set aside our faith.”

Speaking to the behavior of Cuomo and Sliwa, who has claimed Mamd